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    1. Advice on contact lenses causing red eyes

      Hi, I started trialing contact lenses (toric lenses, specifically) about a month ago, and have had a problem with them making my eyes seriously red. I've tried 3 different brands of contacts now,...

      Hi, I started trialing contact lenses (toric lenses, specifically) about a month ago, and have had a problem with them making my eyes seriously red. I've tried 3 different brands of contacts now, and the issue has persisted across all three. Has anyone else had a similar experience and figure out how to manage it? Thank you!

      12 votes
    2. What did you do this week (and weekend)?

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do...

      As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

      12 votes
    3. Fitness Weekly Discussion

      What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started...

      What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started a new diet or have a new recipe you want to share? Anything else health and wellness related?

      20 votes
    4. Seeking Canadian (Ontario) auto, RV trailer, and home insurance

      My current round of insurance with TD / Primmum is due up. I have a 2021 Jeep Gladiator (financed) and a 2019 KIA Rio (no loan), house (no mortgage), and 2016 17' travel trailer (no loan) with...

      My current round of insurance with TD / Primmum is due up. I have a 2021 Jeep Gladiator (financed) and a 2019 KIA Rio (no loan), house (no mortgage), and 2016 17' travel trailer (no loan) with them. Been with them for many many years. Supposedly have a group plan through my employer Ontario Power Generation. I'm not so sure anymore. While it's just me (47m) right now, my 17 year old son will likely get added Friday when he gets his G2 🤞.

      I wonder if anyone could recommend a company that would do good for all, or separate for each. I also have some artwork and camera equipment I would probably tack on.
      The letter I got from TD also said if I don't put a tracker on my Jeep (for theft) my premium will go up. They will pay for it, but if they supply it I won't even consider it. I don't want them following me! Giggle does that enough.

      Searching "best xxxxx" will always give you sites that make money from the reviewed businesses. I won't trust any of them.

      6 votes
    5. Do you tag your music? What's your method?

      I started the monumental task of tagging all my music for the purpose of organising but also autoplaylist generation. I decided to tag only by genre because it suits my listening behaviour (e.g. I...

      I started the monumental task of tagging all my music for the purpose of organising but also autoplaylist generation. I decided to tag only by genre because it suits my listening behaviour (e.g. I feel like reggae, so I pull up my reggae category and scan through album art till I find something that fits my mood).

      I've started tagging and retagging a few times now. I haven't quite figured out a method that works. I started off too specific (many subgenres with few artists in each), then too broad (hundreds of artists per genre). The sweet spot is elusive. I've been doing this work manually, but I've also had the idea of scrapping RYM because I've found this source to be fairly similar to my own judgment. The idea of automated tagging is appealing so I can "let the gods decide" and reduce the mental tax.

      Anyways, please share your methods! Im sure someone has "solved" this delimma. TIA

      14 votes
    6. When did you learn you had ADHD?

      I saw a post on reddit about a guy asking about why his wife changes hobbies so much. He went on to detail her getting super fixated on a hobby, investing a lot of money and learning a lot, and...

      I saw a post on reddit about a guy asking about why his wife changes hobbies so much. He went on to detail her getting super fixated on a hobby, investing a lot of money and learning a lot, and then dropping it. A lot of people were mentioning possibly being adhd.

      I remember that being the first thing that clued me in as an adult who was not diagnosed until later in life.

      Anyone else care to share?

      39 votes
    7. Pop!_OS hardware compatibility

      I want to upgrade my gaming setup, but I want to move towards a desktop replacement laptop for the compact form factor to free up desk space or even get rid of a desk altogether. I also want to...

      I want to upgrade my gaming setup, but I want to move towards a desktop replacement laptop for the compact form factor to free up desk space or even get rid of a desk altogether. I also want to try out Pop!_OS since I know it has good Nvidia drivers and that most games are compatible with Linux nowadays.

      Has anyone had any experience with switching to Pop!_OS from Windows? What is software compatibility like? Pros and cons?

      Also is anyone here using an 18 inch gaming laptop? I'm interested in huge laptops since I'm not really planning on taking it on the go.

      10 votes
    8. Midweek Movie Free Talk

      Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any films you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here. Please just try to provide fair warning of...

      Have you watched any movies recently you want to discuss? Any films you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.

      Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.

      7 votes
    9. Which board games have you all been playing? (to 17th July)?

      Sorry Boardtiddleums, little late with the weekly thread! Saturday I got in a couple of games of Bus!, securing a comfortable victory in the first and an even more comfortable defeat in the...

      Sorry Boardtiddleums, little late with the weekly thread!

      Saturday I got in a couple of games of Bus!, securing a comfortable victory in the first and an even more comfortable defeat in the second. Every time I play Bus! I love it it that little bit more: central map with interesting decisions, worker placement where you choose how fast you burn through your workers, ability to lose a victory point to screw everyone else over...what's not to like?

      After that we played Stockpile, which is always fun. We were a bit rusty on the rules so didn't play with any expansion material.

      Finished up with a game of Cat in the Box, which a fantastic little spin on trick taking games. The deluxe edition that you can currently get is so overproduced, but in the nicest possible way.

      So what have you all been busy playing this week?

      11 votes
    10. Fresh Album Fridays: Blur, Nas, Andrew Bird, Guided by Voices, and more

      Good morning ~ This is a thread to discuss new album releases arriving at our doorsteps today (and until next week!). Feel free to comment albums that have caught your eye and interest. Discussion...

      Good morning ~ This is a thread to discuss new album releases arriving at our doorsteps today (and until next week!). Feel free to comment albums that have caught your eye and interest.

      Discussion Points

      What are you looking forward to listen to?
      Have you listened to any of these releases?
      What are your thoughts?
      What have you enjoyed from these artists in the past?
      Why Friday?

      Most (but not all) new LPs release on a Friday, as labels want to give the release a full week of sales before entering the charts.

      ~~ Feedback on the format welcome!

      18 votes
    11. First time building a PC, need some advice

      I'm looking at starting to do a PC build and I'm a bit lost on which way to go CPU wise. Proposed use case: linux, some gaming (usually older games), possibly trying to learn home lab/self hosting...

      I'm looking at starting to do a PC build and I'm a bit lost on which way to go CPU wise.

      Proposed use case: linux, some gaming (usually older games), possibly trying to learn home lab/self hosting types of things probably in a VM but nothing really heavy. I do want to run Starfield when it comes out and maybe be able to try VR some time in the future.

      I'd like to have a bit of a future proof system while getting value for my money, as in I'd like to spend less but I will spend more if it matters. This is where I'm sort of getting lost.

      I tend to lean towards Intel because VM's and multitasking should work better (I think) but people seem to believe that AMD is better bang for the buck?

      I feel like I'm likely not going to swap CPU's, but RAM, GPU, and storage are easy to swap so I'm not to worried.

      25 votes
    12. What creative projects have you been working on?

      This topic is part of a series. It is meant to be a place for users to discuss creative projects they have been working on. Projects can be personal, professional, physical, digital, or even just...

      This topic is part of a series. It is meant to be a place for users to discuss creative projects they have been working on.

      Projects can be personal, professional, physical, digital, or even just ideas.

      If you have any creative projects that you have been working on or want to eventually work on, this is a place for discussing those.

      15 votes
    13. Managing mania?

      About 3 or 4 times a year I will get pretty powerful manic episodes. Usually for a few days I'll stay at the office until late at night, I'm in an amazing mood, I'm always excited and have trouble...

      About 3 or 4 times a year I will get pretty powerful manic episodes. Usually for a few days I'll stay at the office until late at night, I'm in an amazing mood, I'm always excited and have trouble sleeping. My focus is so powerful, If I could be this version of me all of the time I genuinely believe I could do anything.

      It's like a totally different person from my usual self who is easily fatigued, slow to start, and generally lethargic.

      Knowing this side of me exists is exciting but also kind of depressing given my awareness of its fleeting nature. How have you dealt with this? Any reading you could recomend?

      20 votes
    14. What are your best cleaning tips?

      I’ve always been a bit nervous of bleach. My white counters in the kitchen have been picking up stains, so I bought some bleach and have left it to sit. Hooray, the stains are gone! BUT. Then I...

      I’ve always been a bit nervous of bleach. My white counters in the kitchen have been picking up stains, so I bought some bleach and have left it to sit. Hooray, the stains are gone!

      BUT. Then I googled some bleach tips and discovered that you absolutely shouldn’t use undiluted bleach on your counters because it can ruin them 🤦🏻‍♀️

      I didn’t pick up a lot of cleaning knowledge from my parents, and it’s been a lot of trial and error (so much error) figuring out how to keep everything clean enough. Now I have schedules and products and I do a pretty good job of it, but I moved out of home at 18 and I’m now 36 so it’s been literally half my life getting to this point.

      So… what cleaning tips and tricks do you have? What product (remember to specify which country you’re in!) can you absolutely not do without? What products can be used for something unusual? Let’s hear it!

      80 votes
    15. How can I leave Reddit?

      I tried finding other alternatives to reddit, which is what got me here. I still love the content of the subs that I followed and am not wanting to really step away. I'd like to as a matter of my...

      I tried finding other alternatives to reddit, which is what got me here. I still love the content of the subs that I followed and am not wanting to really step away. I'd like to as a matter of my own principles... but I still want it. So much knowledge has been amassed on that platform.

      Do you guys still mess with reddit regularly? If not, how?

      82 votes
    16. Let's share some obscure forgotten tunes (<20K plays/views)

      I'm looking for weird or obscure music that few folks have given a listen. To keep things interesting, I'll try and post stuff I've stumbled upon and liked rather than cruising newly uploaded...

      I'm looking for weird or obscure music that few folks have given a listen. To keep things interesting, I'll try and post stuff I've stumbled upon and liked rather than cruising newly uploaded stuff. The 20K plays limit is a soft limit and is not cumulative, so just check the numbers one platform like Spotify, YouTube Music or whatever. If it's obscure on one platform, it's probably, though not necessarily, obscure elsewhere too. I'll just be using YT Music numbers.

      • Depois do Escuro - Kalouv at 377 views. Brazilian post-rock band. Not well known at least in my music circles. This song just slaps hard. It deserves more attention.

      • The Search - Dougie MacLean at 8.9K views. Scottish folk artist. Some of his stuff is much better known: one of his tracks for the inspiration for the Last of the Mohicans theme). This whole album was made the Loch Ness Monster Exhibition and is much better than it has any right to be for a tourist attraction.

      • Sólin Mun Skína - Rökkurró at 9.3K views. Icelandic pop and rock band. I like the lead vocal artist a lot. Edit: Their VEVO channel puts this one at 41K views, so it breaks my rules a bit. Oh well.

      • Modulus - Marcus Fjellström at 733 views. Swedish composer and artist who did mostly moody and surreal dreamscapes and ambient music. Sadly he passed away in 2017 after composing the score for the tv show The Terror (one of the few excellent survival horror shows). Not really "easy listening" but I'm really impressed with his work and wanted to share it.

      • Misery Needs Company - Lovedrug at 2.1K views. Indie/alt band. Great song. Simple as that.

      • The Lunar Effect - Kebu at 19K views. Kebu, a Finnish keyboardist and composer, does lots of old-school synth and electronic work like you'd find in the tradition of Jean Michel Jarre. Edit: The live performance of this song has like 300K views... so I really shouldn't include it here.

      • Summoning Lesser Demons - Ivar Tryti at 10.1K views. Ivar is a regular on the synthesizer discord which is how I found his stuff. He's a wizard with Elektron synths/samplers and gear so I keep up with his releases.

      If you're having trouble finding stuff <20K (I know I did when searching my history!) then increase the threshold to say 100K. If anybody has a good way to find rarer stuff, ideas are welcome. :)

      39 votes
    17. Selecting monitors for a three monitor setup

      I'm in the market for a 3 monitor setup. I've got a huge desk and about $2k to spend. Ideally, I'd like three matching monitors, but here's the catch. I want the middle "main" monitor to be my...

      I'm in the market for a 3 monitor setup. I've got a huge desk and about $2k to spend. Ideally, I'd like three matching monitors, but here's the catch. I want the middle "main" monitor to be my gaming monitor (120-144hz) while the side monitors can be 60hz. It'd be awesome if there was a brand that sold the same form factor (same base, bezel, etc).

      Thoughts?

      14 votes
    18. How to get full-text RSS feed from medium.com ?

      I know medium has an RSS feed that can be accessed by adding /feed/ before the username/publication name but it's truncated if the publication has a paywall. I've been looking for a way to get the...

      I know medium has an RSS feed that can be accessed by adding /feed/ before the username/publication name but it's truncated if the publication has a paywall. I've been looking for a way to get the full-text feed but could not find a solution, it looks like it adds a parameter to the link in the rss feed, similar to ?source=rss-d00bc5bb7954------2 but I can't figure out how to remove it. any ideas ?

      7 votes
    19. Asking advice re search engines, search technique

      So, in the past, I have been able to find new poems I enjoy by reading a critical essay about poetry and taking the referenced poem and author and typing the information into Google search. It...

      So, in the past, I have been able to find new poems I enjoy by reading a critical essay about poetry and taking the referenced poem and author and typing the information into Google search. It used to be that that technique turned up a copy of the text of the poem and typically more poems by the author 95 percent of the time for me.

      This year, when I try that same technique, Google gives me general reference articles about the life of the poet, or news about celebrities with similar names (not the same name at all), or just no search results. Does anyone know what happened? Can anyone help me use the internet to find new poems again?

      Thanks very much

      21 votes
    20. What's your retirement plan?

      Are you planning on working until you're 60+? Or maybe selling it all and living in a rural area? Buying stocks or ETFs? Or something else? So what's your retirement plan? At what age do you want...

      Are you planning on working until you're 60+?

      Or maybe selling it all and living in a rural area?

      Buying stocks or ETFs?

      Or something else?

      So what's your retirement plan? At what age do you want to retire and how are you working towards this goal?

      53 votes
    21. Any pilots here?

      I've been following tildes the past couple of weeks, and am really enjoying the friendlier, more thought out discussion, when compared to reddit. The one thing I miss is r/flying, which was a...

      I've been following tildes the past couple of weeks, and am really enjoying the friendlier, more thought out discussion, when compared to reddit. The one thing I miss is r/flying, which was a pretty decent community of pilots without too much low-effort content.

      I'm curious if any other pilots have migrated here (hobby pilots, or professionals)? Are we anywhere near critical mass to support discussions around it?

      To keep this valuable to the community at large, just a bit about flying as a hobby. At-least in the US, we still have one of the most active General Aviation communities in the world. It's a lot more expensive than it used to be, but for around $10k you can earn your Private Pilot rating. With that you can fly to nearly any airport, over nearly any area, see beautiful views, experience all sorts of weather and locations. At that point you're looking at ~$100-200/hr depending where in the US you're located, and what sort of club or rental you use.

      It's expensive to be sure, but compared to what people manage to spend on boating, cars, even golfing, it can be fairly reasonable. And it's really a unique experience, if you love it there's nothing like it.

      22 votes
    22. What do you think about how women are depicted in "The Book of the New Sun" by Gene Wolfe?

      It's one of those highly praised series that I've been waiting to read for years. When I finally did (I bought the full set of used and slightly wearied paper books), I bounced off quick. I tried...

      It's one of those highly praised series that I've been waiting to read for years. When I finally did (I bought the full set of used and slightly wearied paper books), I bounced off quick. I tried reading it in 2019, so my memory of that book ("The Shadow of the Torturer") is foggy, but I wrote down some notes at the time.

      I dropped the book somewhere around the Botanical Gardens, mostly because of very annoying female characters, all of whom were the protagonists so-called love interests. It seemed like every attractive woman he met would fall for him and it was so unnatural. I don't even have a problem with the idea per se, for example I'm buying into how macho-men are getting women in Wilbur Smith's adventure books because it feels organic, in Wolfe's book it was like a teenage boy fantasy.

      I don't actually remember it well, but here's an excerpt from what I noted at the time:

      I don't understand Severian's actions - he is challenged to a duel using the flower of vengeance - neither he nor the reader knows what's going on. At the same time, he is tasked with reaching Thrax and assuming the position of local executioner there. He interrupts his journey and decides to take up the challenge, of course, with a girl he has just met in some inn. He is convicted and instead of serving his sentence, he engages in some foolishness. I wanted the girl to disappear from the pages of the novel. Then a second woman appears and I feel that there will also be something between her and Severian.

      The Polish edition which I read is 326 pages long, I dropped off at page 245, I just couldn't bear it anymore. I occasionally see those books, either on my shelf (I have not given them away) or in stores and keep thinking that maybe I misunderstood it or didn't see their greatness and wondering if it would click if I tried again.

      Maybe it is just me?

      14 votes
    23. Methods and tips on mindfully pruning of information intake

      I'm working on pruning the sources of information that come into my Readwise/Read Later feeds down based on usefulness/actionable in my life and quality. My priorities are for data sources to...

      I'm working on pruning the sources of information that come into my Readwise/Read Later feeds down based on usefulness/actionable in my life and quality. My priorities are for data sources to expand my 'reality tunnel', to provide unique insights (not an echo chamber), and to remove a lot of the 'noise' of the day-to-day information overload. I'm considering what those sources might be. If you have a moment, I'd appreciate your thoughts, advice, and links to any writings or videos that speak to this similar goal and how others have done it. Thanks in advance!

      Nick Milo said:

      The noise is deafening, but I promise to focus on the high-value signal.

      I'm seeking to reduce the noise, and increase the signal of my Reader feeds.

      12 votes
    24. What would you like to see in The Last of Us multiplayer game?

      Disclaimer I’m a huge fan of the Last of Us Part I and Part II. With no hesitation, I’d say Part II is my favourite game. I also loved the HBO series, and I’m sure I’ll like Season 2 as well. This...
      Disclaimer I’m a huge fan of the Last of Us Part I and Part II. With no hesitation, I’d say Part II is my favourite game. I also loved the HBO series, and I’m sure I’ll like Season 2 as well. This is a controversial hot take online, it seems, but I don’t share any of that to convince anyone, rather to set the stage for this discussion.

      Specifically, that it’d be nice to keep this discussion between:

      • People who enjoy the games and spinoffs. That doesn’t mean you have to love everything about them, but you’re generally optimistic about the series.
      • People that may be new to the series, but are interested in the multiplayer game.

      I really dislike that I feel the need to make this disclaimer and perhaps it’s not necessary on Tildes (I’m new here). But it’s been really difficult to find a space online to discuss this series with other people who enjoy it.

      I played the original PS3 version of the Last of Us, but I have never tried Factions. Over the years, I’ve heard a lot of good things about it, but at this point, I’m going to wait to try out the new multiplayer when it releases.

      I’ve seen a few details floating around online: it’ll be set in San Francisco, have a new cast of characters, and have it’s own story.

      I want to know, what kind of mechanics and story elements do you want to see make it into the multiplayer? If you played Factions, are there any stand out features that you want to see return? Do you care if it’s live service? Do you want it to have “seasons” that build on the story over time?

      My Thoughts (Spoilers)

      Game Mechanics

      Personally, if the multiplayer has the same gameplay mechanics as Part II, it’ll already be mechanically great for me. If we see Naughty Dog continue to build on those mechanics with more weapons, executions, animations, and banter, it’ll be even better.

      I really liked how they made Joel, Ellie, and Abby all feel different to play in the main games, so I hope the new cast of characters have a similar implementation. I would also love to see more variants of infected and “bosses” like the Rat King.

      It could also be interesting to bring the gameplay closer to Grounded mode. That’s where I’ve felt the main games really shine, because people and the infected feel genuinely lethal. Every encounter requires some serious strategizing and equipment management. This would probably alienate too many players, but it doesn’t have to be quite as extreme as Grounded, something akin to Hard/Survivor would work as well.

      What to expect from the story?

      I have no idea what to expect from the story, and I think I’m open to anything Druckmann wants to do. I hope Halley Gross returns as a writer as well, because I really like what she brought to Part II.

      Ultimately, I want to learn more about the infected and the Fireflies (as well as other militia groups). I hope the story also reemphasizes and builds on Ellie’s immunity (even if she’s not featured directly in the multiplayer), because I think that could help set-up Part III.

      Speaking of Part III, which could easily be its own discussion. Part II’s ending was soul crushing, and I want to see Ellie have some closure. Her immunity is still the biggest mystery in this world and I don’t think she’s fully accepted or embraced it. Though we saw glimpses of that in Santa Barbara at the end of Part II. I’d love to see an older Ellie in Part III that leverages her immunity to survive in more exploitative ways.

      Multiplayer Story Implementation

      I’m not very familiar with multiplayer games, particularly ones that attempt to tell a story (especially with TLOU being so narratively driven). But I think seasons could be interesting if done right. It could make for some fun discussions online as new seasons are released and the community uncovers the details. I think I like the idea of an open map format with event triggers (akin to The Division 2) more than restricted lobbies and matches.

      Alternatively, I’m down to see something new and innovative. Some kind of hybrid between the single player experience and scripted events, but set in a multiplayer world.

      Live Service?

      I would love to simply pay full price for this game and not have to see any live service components. However, I think that’s unlikely to happen. I expect there to be premium cosmetics, emotes, and executions. Especially if there’s going to be long-term support and something like seasons, because there’s really no other way to do it.

      9 votes
    25. What do you think is the most interesting/weird music genre?

      The first one that comes to my head is Viking Metal, which i think is self-explanatory. Also one that I like but is a bit more popular is Doomer Wave. Usually just remixes of music on Youtube that...

      The first one that comes to my head is Viking Metal, which i think is self-explanatory.
      Also one that I like but is a bit more popular is Doomer Wave. Usually just remixes of music on Youtube that are more depressing.

      18 votes
    26. How does mutual fund pricing work when selling?

      A very newbie question to which I'm having a hard time finding a clear answer (and I don't want to read a dissertation on how the stock market works). I'm planning to sell my FZROX (FIDELITY ZERO...

      A very newbie question to which I'm having a hard time finding a clear answer (and I don't want to read a dissertation on how the stock market works).

      I'm planning to sell my FZROX (FIDELITY ZERO TOTAL MARKET INDEX FUND) shares.
      Fidelity states "This trade will be completed at the next available price.".

      Does this mean the estimated value could be much lower than it currently is when it "sells"?

      e.g. Currently priced at $10,000 when I put in the order to sell, but sold on next pricing when value drops to $7,000 because market.

      9 votes
    27. Folks in the biotech industry, what do you do and what is it like?

      I've been doing a postdoc in molecular biology in academia for a little while now, and getting ready to take next step. I'm looking into industry careers, but it's difficult to know what they...

      I've been doing a postdoc in molecular biology in academia for a little while now, and getting ready to take next step. I'm looking into industry careers, but it's difficult to know what they entail since we don't often get exposed to them.

      If you or someone you know works in biotech, I'd love to hear about it.

      How did you get into it? What do you enjoy or not enjoy? Where do you see the industry heading? What are some of the positions like?

      15 votes
    28. How safe am I? (self hosting)

      I have a server running Unraid at home. I have ~20 docker containers running at the moment with almost all of them only available within my local network. I just stood up an instance of Seafile on...

      I have a server running Unraid at home. I have ~20 docker containers running at the moment with almost all of them only available within my local network. I just stood up an instance of Seafile on the server to act as a google drive replacement. Still in the early test phase before I commit to throwing important stuff on there. I have my domain proxied through Cloudflare so none of my local ports are exposed to the internet. Seafille has complicated passwords set for admin and user accounts (generated with Bitwarden, hot damn I love that app). I also enabled 2FA on each account. I know that I can further clamp it down using some of Cloudflare's extra access controls but in my admittedly limited experience, those all cause issues getting an app to authenticate with the service. Web apps don't have this issue of course.

      So am I ok with this setup? I can encrypt the data before uploading easily as it's a built in feature of Seafile. Or would it be better to just run with local only and run a VPN to access when I'm outside?

      I figure just about any effort along these lines I trust more than Google with my data. But I may be overconfident in that perhaps. I'm still learning the ropes with Linux and self-hosting in general.

      17 votes
    29. What are some short story collections you'd recommend?

      I'm part of an IRL bookclub, and we choose books based on themes each month. Our upcoming theme is "short story collection", and I'm looking for suggestions. Don't worry about specific genres or...

      I'm part of an IRL bookclub, and we choose books based on themes each month. Our upcoming theme is "short story collection", and I'm looking for suggestions.

      Don't worry about specific genres or catering your recommendations to our group's tastes. I'll filter that myself and nominate the one that I best think fits the group's interest (we all nominate books to the group and then everyone votes to determine what we actually read). I want the topic here to be general so that anyone looking for short story recommendations across any genre can get them.

      21 votes
    30. Let’s talk creative process!

      How do you begin? Do you have rituals or specific places you work? How do you decide it’s done? I’m interested in hearing from creatives of any kind! Maybe we can draw inspiration and wisdom from...

      How do you begin? Do you have rituals or specific places you work? How do you decide it’s done?

      I’m interested in hearing from creatives of any kind! Maybe we can draw inspiration and wisdom from someone who isn’t in our creative sphere.

      24 votes
    31. What text comparison software do you use?

      I've only had exposure to Beyond Compare and would like your opinion/suggestions on what's good. mostly, I use it to compare two different versions of similar csv and potentially to merge them....

      I've only had exposure to Beyond Compare and would like your opinion/suggestions on what's good.

      mostly, I use it to compare two different versions of similar csv and potentially to merge them. Next use case is to compare two versions of simple scripts to see what's been updated.

      Command line tools are a little too much for me, but if it seem to be very important to learn I supposed I could be encouraged to do so.

      11 votes
    32. What's the most enjoyable part of your work?

      Whether you work indoors or out on the field, with your hands or with your mind. Whether you create things, fix them, sell them. Or whether you work with people or look after them. What gets you...

      Whether you work indoors or out on the field, with your hands or with your mind.
      Whether you create things, fix them, sell them. Or whether you work with people or look after them. What gets you up in the morning, keeps you going through the day (or night) and makes it enjoyable? (or bearable!)

      60 votes
    33. Do your friends read books? Is the readership rate high in your country?

      Virtually none of my friends read books. I don't think my neighbors do, either. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only book reader. There's no one to talk to about the books I'm reading. I can post on...

      Virtually none of my friends read books. I don't think my neighbors do, either. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only book reader. There's no one to talk to about the books I'm reading. I can post on the Internet and I will get a few upvotes here and there, sometimes a comment, but there's no depth to it. Also, I'd like to talk about books in person, not keyboard. The statistics of readership as conducted by our national library (Poland) were always piss poor, while I think they don't cover the whole society (because they focus on books lent from libraries?) it still seems accurate. Our nearest southern neighbors (Czechia) have high readership, same as our western neighbors (Germany, gosh I envy the sheer amount of books published in German). Poles not only don't read, but because of that we get only a small chunk of published books, oftentimes I search for a book online and there are English, German, Spanish, Russian, Czech (not as often, but a lot more than Polish) translations available, but not Polish -- I understand it, it's not worth it business-wise to publish some obscure books in Poland. It's a sad affair.

      19 votes
    34. Thinking of creating a local media center for my home. Any ideas/collaborators?

      With the growing fragmentation of online streaming services, I'm thinking of setting up a local media server for my home that I can use over Kodi to stream movies/tv shows to my chromecast. I...

      With the growing fragmentation of online streaming services, I'm thinking of setting up a local media server for my home that I can use over Kodi to stream movies/tv shows to my chromecast. I might go Monkey D. Luffy for the content itself.

      Basically the basic plan is to have some base features and some add-ons as follows.

      Base:

      1. Create a media server using a Raspberry Pi and some storage to serve as the base for all my viewing
      2. Setting up Kodi on all relevant platforms to consume data from (1) [This should be trivial]

      Add-ons:

      1. Create a python script to check for new episodes of any existing show available on the net (Imdb, moviedb, wiki can be starting points to check this)
      2. Automate download of shows from 1. Can be setup to run at some daily interval
      3. Download subtitles for shows from 2.
      4. Maintain some Github list to add new movies/tv shows that user might be interested to download. Script from 1 should be able to consume this.

      I used Popcorn time was a software that was able to do most of this at some point, but I remember reading that there were some security issues identified with it. I never really checked it afterwards, but happy to be corrected if it's reliable.

      Edit: Thanks folks, I did not know that the RR-sphere already solves most of these problems, will look into it. I was looking forward to the scripting, but I'm guessing these solutions handle security much better than I would at my end.

      29 votes
    35. I've solo travelled ~3-4 weeks in the last twelve months - thoughts and AMA

      So in the last 12 months I've been to Japan, Reykjavik, Paris, and London by myself, and a couple of more countries with a friend (Brussels, Madrid, Seville, Paris^2, London^2, Reykjavik^2) and I...

      So in the last 12 months I've been to Japan, Reykjavik, Paris, and London by myself, and a couple of more countries with a friend (Brussels, Madrid, Seville, Paris^2, London^2, Reykjavik^2) and I just wanted to jot down some thoughts, tips, and maybe try to answer any questions that people might have about solo traveling.

      A full disclaimer, I'm an Asian guy who's relatively tall and broad in stature. The only reason I want to mention this is because I understand that non-masculine presenting people might have different experiences in general, especially when it comes to safety and perception. I'm not saying everywhere is dangerous nor that you should be afraid wherever you go, but I've never had to worry too much about walking alone at night nor being alone in a bar with only a couple of people. My other point of privilege is that I have a job that gives me a lot of PTO and requires me to take vacation even, which makes it easier for me to arrange these things.

      I started solo traveling this year, at the advice of my therapist. The one thing he mentioned a couple of times was that he noticed that his patients with anxiety seemed to make a lot of good progress while abroad by themselves, so I took his advice. My first "solo trip" was actually only 24 hours, in London. It was after a week-ish long trip that I last minute joined with a friend who was going to Spain on a work trip.

      My first kinda tip/observation comes here. If you're looking to try and spend some time solo tripping, a quick way to do it is that if you already have a trip planned with friends or family, you can always build in a "long layover" to somewhere along the way at the beginning or end of a group trip. I know that Iceland Air does this on their site for you, and Reykjavik is an amazing place with amazing people. I find myself sometimes sorting for 20+ hour layovers just for this.

      In London, I learned the biggest thing about traveling by myself that I really loved - that I could do anything, go anywhere, and not have to worry about the needs and wants of other people. Not that my travel companions are bad or not fun, but there's always something in the back of your mind of, "are these people enjoying it?" whereas by yourself you only need to worry about "am I enjoying it?" and that is a major relief.
      I find that I've been able to discover more about myself, the things I want to do and see. I didn't feel beholden to hit all the major tourist traps. In fact, I actually ended up in the Fashion and Textile museum. I've always loved fashion and thought that it would be more about that aspect of things, but when I went it was during an exhibit on quilting. The ticket seller looked at me funny and asked if I was sure I wanted to go into the exhibit, and I soon realized why, I was the youngest person there by a couple of decades, sticking out like a sore thumb. But honestly, it looked pretty interesting so I went through.

      I learned another thing that day, if you are interested and polite, people are generally very receptive to that. I walked through the exhibits, and it felt like at every quilt I stopped at, a British grandma would come up to me and ask me what my interest in quilting is, what I knew about it, and what I thought about the quilt. I knew absolutely 0 things about anything I was looking at, and they were all super happy to explain to me things about patterns, specific designs on each piece, why each piece was special, and so on. I learned a lot that day, and got to talk to a lot of grandmas and hear their stories and their interests. One was an engineer, who told me that the best engineers loved both arts and engineering, which still sticks with me now.

      My next trip was a couple of months later to Reykjavik and Paris. I booked a trip very last minute, within two weeks of the actual flight, iirc. But I figured if I was spending New Year's by myself at home, I might as well... not. I learned about the Iceland Air thing here, btw, effectively giving me two vacations in one. I spent New Years with a group of people I met on the plane, who graciously invited me to party with them, which was amazing.

      The thing I learned about my New Year in Iceland is that even though I was there for myself, doing the things that I wanted to do, it was okay to say yes sometimes to things that make you uncomfortable. I'm an introvert in general, with a lot of anxiety about pleasing people and making sure other people are happy. I'm sure others can relate. But being able to spend New Years with a group of people that I have met that same day was incredible because I realized that, yes, these people liked me, and yes, these people I probably will never see again, which lets me truly, honestly be myself without putting up a front because at the end of the day, if they knew who I was and they didn't like me, it's not like I'll ever have to deal with them again. Luckily, I'm still in contact with a couple of them and would love to visit them in the future, but your mileage may vary haha.

      In Paris, I learned that it was okay to cancel plans and lay in your hotel room even though there are things you wanted to do. I got a bit sick from partying too hard in Iceland, so I ended up staying in for a night and then some, missing a tour I booked at the Paris Catacombs (which I still haven't gone to even after going back to Paris a second time later in the year), but honestly it was very relaxing. As someone who likes to plan a bit before I leave, missing out on reservations made me learn that I didn't have to stick to the script all the time, it was okay and I'll still be okay. It wasn't the end of the world, though I was out a couple of dollars (I recognize this privilege though, so if you're tight on money please don't listen to me here), but I was getting healthy and happy and didn't need to push myself to do everything, something that I had to unlearn from my prior experiences with travel.

      That brings me to Japan, which I just came back from yesterday. I spent 10 days there and chatted and drank with locals, spent time by myself in an onsen (completely naked with a bunch of strangers btw), and got a new tattoo! I'm not sure if I learned anything too specific just yet, though I'll probably need to sit and think about it for a bit. But maybe the lesson might be that I don't have to take a lesson from everywhere I went.

      With alllll that being said, I'd love to answer any questions people might have, encourage people who might want to go solo traveling at least once, and give a place for other people to share their experience as well!

      39 votes
    36. Hello fellow women

      Thought I may as well get this party started. What is going on in everyone's life right now? I'll start. Today is my birthday, and I am now 38. Officially in my late 30s, and getting ever closer...

      Thought I may as well get this party started. What is going on in everyone's life right now?

      I'll start.

      Today is my birthday, and I am now 38. Officially in my late 30s, and getting ever closer to that big 4-0.

      I have never been one to worry so much about my age, but it is hitting me today. Things hurt that didn't used to hurt. I have a few crinkles around my eyes. I also have started getting those little red dots on my back and shoulders (no idea what that is about). My hair is around 40% grey. I have not taken care of myself as I should have. Even though I have never wanted kids it's weird to think that the window is rapidly closing on that. I have more money but also more problems, more home repairs and honestly more life repairs from my 20s. I guess I am just being a bit more reflective than usual.

      So where are you in life? And how are you feeling about it?

      109 votes
    37. What's the easiest way to queue downloads to my PC?

      I mean this in the sense of "I find a file on a website that I want to have download directly to my laptop without having to download to my phone and then transfer from my phone to my laptop?"...

      I mean this in the sense of "I find a file on a website that I want to have download directly to my laptop without having to download to my phone and then transfer from my phone to my laptop?"

      Something I can use in the case "ope that's an interesting file that I'll forget about before I'm at my laptop"

      14 votes
    38. What have you made using an AI tool?

      I'm curious what people have made with the assistance of any of the new AI tools. Let's skip low-effort things like asking ChatGPT to generate an essay and posting it as-is. But besides that, if...

      I'm curious what people have made with the assistance of any of the new AI tools.

      Let's skip low-effort things like asking ChatGPT to generate an essay and posting it as-is. But besides that, if you made something you think is cool, post it here.

      45 votes
    39. Any fans here of "Bee And Puppycat", the original series on YouTube and the sorta reboot on Netflix?

      I absolutely adore both, it has such a relaxing animation style and soundtrack. Kind of an embarrassing guilty pleasure as a guy. The soundtrack is partially by the artist Baths who is also...

      I absolutely adore both, it has such a relaxing animation style and soundtrack. Kind of an embarrassing guilty pleasure as a guy.
      The soundtrack is partially by the artist Baths who is also incredible. And I just saw its been released sometime recently!
      Anyways please leave your thoughts about the show, I hope it gets another season, which is likely since they were partially acquired by Toho studios
      (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)

      33 votes
    40. What would you like to see in your dream food blog?

      I am in the process of starting up my own food blog. I have no hopes or aspirations of being huge or making money, it will solely be a labor of love and an outlet for my love of food to share with...

      I am in the process of starting up my own food blog. I have no hopes or aspirations of being huge or making money, it will solely be a labor of love and an outlet for my love of food to share with the world.

      Unfortunately, I don’t have a specific niche that will be targeting and was looking to crowd source opinions on what people would feel they would like in a food blog. I’m hoping to avoid suggestions like “less convoluted stories about your grandmothers tablecloth for 3 pages before the recipe” since I think we can all agree on that front.

      Some of you may be thinking the world needs another blog like you need another asshole, and that may be true. However, part of my impetus was that many of the recipe blogs I find online have the same generic 30-40 recipes with minimal variation. Others of higher quality are moving behind paywalls. My goal is to try to include slightly more obscure recipes from all over the world, tried/tested/optimized for simplicity in cooking and flavor, or more unique variations on more common recipes. I also aspire to do some articles a bit more experimental / scientific in nature in the vein of some of J Kenji Lopez Alts articles a la serious eats but that is a larger aspiration for down the road.

      I welcome any suggestions or sharing of your current favorite food blogs. I know the current social media trend is YouTube, TikTok, and the like. However as I find myself here with you all, you may understand my preference for sticking with the written word (and occasional photos). Cheers!

      13 votes
    41. How are you all posting in blue text?

      Sorry for seeming like a total idiot but I cannot find the process to change my text color when I type a message. I checked this site and did some online research with the Markdown system itself...

      Sorry for seeming like a total idiot but I cannot find the process to change my text color when I type a message.
      I checked this site and did some online research with the Markdown system itself which is new to me.
      It appears that there is some kind of code insertion but it's unclear how to format.
      So many of you are advanced computer users and I am just your traditional semi-fluent poster.
      Any help would be appreciated.

      25 votes
    42. What creative projects have you been working on?

      This topic is part of a series. It is meant to be a place for users to discuss creative projects they have been working on. Projects can be personal, professional, physical, digital, or even just...

      This topic is part of a series. It is meant to be a place for users to discuss creative projects they have been working on.

      Projects can be personal, professional, physical, digital, or even just ideas.

      If you have any creative projects that you have been working on or want to eventually work on, this is a place for discussing those.

      27 votes